Author: Sally Miller Walker (Right)
Location: Dallas, TX
A little bit: Sally's passion and career is as an early childhood education teacher. she has a weakness for gluten-free sweets and shopping on line and plays more with pinks, pattern, and color than Molly. Currently listening to: vampire weekend.
Toast: Butter + Cinnamon + Sugar, or peanut butter

When it comes to the subject of Macarons, I am a rookie. At best. I have tried them twice in my life. The most recent time being this past weekend in Austin. The first time I tried the tiny treats was at an event, but this last time was at a bakery and it. was. epic. I picked out a basica Vanilla flavored macaron and a “Rose” flavored from La Patisserie in Austin – a darling little bakery with an assortment of yummy looking things. These macarons were to die for. Even the rose flavor which I was pretty skeptical…

When it comes to the subject of Macarons, I am a rookie. At best. I have tried them twice in my life. The most recent time being this past weekend in Austin. The first time I tried the tiny treats was at an event, but this last time was at a bakery and it. was. epic. I picked out a basica Vanilla flavored macaron and a “Rose” flavored from La Patisserie in Austin – a darling little bakery with an assortment of yummy looking things. These macarons were to die for. Even the rose flavor which I was pretty skeptical about. The light and airy texture wasn’t lacking for flavor whatsoever.

After this last macaron jaunt in Austin, I am now beyond curious. Curious as in, how can I make them myself. The hardest part (by far) about going Gluten free is the whole sweets factor. I am a big sweet treat person and have been feeling quite deprived of all things sweet lately. With candy off the menu after giving it up for lent and ice cream off as well because of a lactose intolerance, that doesn’t leave much. Baked goods are not friendly to the gluten free unless made in your own home. But, macarons are naturally a gluten free sweet treat which basically makes them my new best friend. Did you all know that? They contain no flour whatsoever!

As much as I love these little guys and would love to attempt at making them, I know that is no easy task and making macarons can take hours on end. As our mom always says, “baking is a science”, and I think it is an extreme science when it comes to macarons. What do you think, should I attempt? Or go the store/bakery bought route? Help a g-free, sweet-deprived sista out!

Hello,
If this is of any help this late in the game, I read up for 2-3 hours before taking 4 hours to make my first batch of macarons.
(With feet! but slightly gooey in the middle bc of my impatience)
If you haven’t tried yet, so! It really is like a fun if not yummy chemistry experiment!
A friend showed me the Ten Commandments of Macarons, and while those hours of research paid off, I wish she had shared this first!http://bravetart.com/blog/TheTenCommandments

Sucre in New Orleans has the BEST macaroons…they made Oprah's list of Favorite Things (the Holy Grail) and their pastry chef was named of of the Top 3 in the country. Great news is, they ship! I had a platter full of these little guys at my Grand Opening party and they were wiped out before Noon. Such a yummy treat (shopsucre.com)

Macaroons are the new cupcake are the new fro-yo, I know, I know. And how good are they? I still think about a passionfruit/lime one I had in Sydney last year. But all I'm going to say is that when you need a treat, THIS might change your life: http://www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com/products/coconut-milk-ice-creams. Dairy free, agave sweetened, gluten free. Whoa.

I made macarons recently, and with four experienced cooks and bakers and all of the ingredients accounted-for, it still took the better part of a Saturday! I love macarons and the ones we made were delicious, but it was quite time-consuming. You have to let the egg whites "age" for a few days and we had to dehydrate some strawberries as well, among other things. It was a fun activity to do with friends… once. 🙂

There is a new gluten-free bakery in Dallas called Tu-Lu's- I haven't been but I'm also gluten-free so I want to check it out!